


sirius

by associate



Category: IDOLiSH7 (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hoshi Meguri (IDOLiSH7), Animal Traits, Established Relationship, Fluff, Hair Brushing, M/M, Pre-Epilogue
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-13
Updated: 2019-01-13
Packaged: 2019-10-09 07:13:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17402396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/associate/pseuds/associate
Summary: Hope can't fulfill his promise to travel the stars with Coda, so Coda brings the stars to Hope.





	sirius

Coda isn’t sure if he’ll ever get used to how _dry_ Eterno is. Quite frankly, he isn’t sure if he even wants to get used to it. There’s a sandstorm rising in the distance, the wind already starting to whip harshly through the port. It would make perfect sense for him to reboard his ship, to weather the storm, to stop scouring the town for someone still willing to rent him terrestrial transport. If it were Fang, Coda would very reasonably tell him that he’s taken complete leave of his senses if he wants to travel in these conditions.

Unfortunately, there’s no one in the current crew willing to call _Coda_ out on his lapse in judgment. Instead, they wave him off as he instructs them to keep the perishable cargo safely stored, assuring him that _they’ll_ be safe as he dons a pair of goggles and swings his leg over the (barely functional) sand speeder he managed to get ahold of, his backpack carefully loaded with a different kind of cargo. He taps the compass on the handlebars once, twice before the needle swings due north. The winds pick up as Coda sets his course and guns the throttle.

Despite the storm, Coda’s trip is uneventful, save for the constant blast of sand across his exposed cheeks. The speeder shudders to what should be a definitive stop before drifting horizontally in the wind. Coda hops off before it scrapes against the wall of the compound, sending a silent wish to the heavens that the repair fees won’t be too high when he manages to return the speeder.

Coda pockets the keys to the speeder and runs past the absurdly large doors to the palace before ducking into the much more manageable servant’s entrance. He gasps in the filtered, almost sterile air inside, pulling the goggles down to hang around his neck. He inhales too sharply, coughing as his beast ears pop out from beneath his turban. Coda dusts himself off as best he can and hurries through the eerily quiet hallways before arriving at set of ornate double doors. He straightens himself out and reaches for the knocker.

The doors burst open before Coda can knock and instead gets the air knocked out of him as his assailant wraps arms around his torso rib-bruisingly tight. Coda lets out a half-choked _Hope_ as he thumps the other boy’s back, urging him to loosen his hold.

Hope finally steps back from the hug, smile shining as brightly as the Eternan sun. “Glad to see that our fearless leader made it here in one piece!”

Coda scoffs. “As if I wouldn’t have. And don’t call me that, we haven’t elected a new captain yet. There’s no guarantee it’ll be me.”

“Aye aye,” Hope replies with a wink and a salute.

“I may not be the leader of anything,” _yet_ Hope mutters under his breath. Coda pretends not to hear him and continues, “but you are, _Your Majesty_ —” Hope makes a face at that “—or would you prefer My Liege,” a wince, “or His Royal Luminescence, King Hope of Eter—”

Hope smacks Coda’s shoulder lightly. “Now you’re just making up titles!”

Coda shrugs unapologetically and brushes past Hope into his quarters, dumping his bag carelessly in the middle of the floor before shrugging his robe off onto the back of a chair and collapsing into it. He pulls off his turban with a tired sigh, running his fingers through his hair. Hope shuts the doors behind himself before making a beeline towards Coda and unceremoniously throwing himself into the other’s lap. Coda grunts but moves his hand to rest on the other’s head. He pats him idly, letting the pads of his fingers rub against Hope’s scalp as he melts into his chest. They rest for a few minutes in comfortable silence before Hope speaks up, his voice muffled in Coda’s shirt.

“What?”

Hope tilts his head up and repeats himself. “How was Sirena? The caravan was there for a while negotiating new trade agreement, right?”

“Fang was, not me. I’m a merchant, not a legislator.”

Hope pokes Coda in the chest. “That doesn’t answer my question. How was it for you?”

Coda thinks (or rather, tries not to think) about it quietly. “Uneventful.”

Hope opens his mouth, probably to urge him to elaborate, so Coda blatantly changes the subject. “I brought you some souvenirs.”

Hope bolts upright, almost headbutting Coda in the process. “Where?” Coda levels him with an unimpressed look and gestures at the backpack on the ground. Hope frowns. “They could’ve broken!” Coda continues to stare blankly at Hope until he hops off his lap with a pout and starts to dig through the largest compartment.

There’s certainly much more impressive objects housed within the palace itself, but Hope whoops in excitement as he pulls out various trinkets, setting them in a row after he finishes oohing and aahing over each one.

Hope pauses as he flips open a small box to reveal a pair of earrings. “You haven’t gotten me jewelry before.”

Coda clears his throat awkwardly. “They were … a gift. From King Sardinia. He suggested that I pierce my ears.”

“Which pair?” Hope asks curiously.

“I didn’t ask,” Coda replies flatly. “Do you not like them? I thought they would suit you, or at least better than they would me, but that’s a different matter from liking them.”

“It’s not that. They’re really pretty! I was just curious since we haven’t exchanged this kind of thing before.” Hope removes the earrings he’s wearing, placing them carefully in the box before putting on the new pair. “Would King Sardinia be fine with you regifting them?”

“Fang basically said that I would. He didn’t seem bothered by it.” Coda leans his elbow on the armrest and props his chin up on his fist. “If anything, I feel like you were the intended recipient all along.”

“As long as it’s fine with everyone!” Hope turns his head from side to side, modeling for Coda. “How do they look?”

Coda points at the front pocket of the backpack. “See for yourself.” Hope feels around in it and pulls out a wooden compact with a floral design engraved in it. He flips it open to reveal a mirror and a brush. Hope admires the earrings in it, humming approvingly, and then curiously strokes the brush bristles.

“What kind of fiber is this? Is it from Bestia?” Hope says, experimentally brushing his hair with it, “It doesn’t feel like anything I’ve ever felt before.”

Coda nods once before sitting in silence for a second too long to be comfortable. “Some things are better left unknown.”

“That’s ominous!” Hope exclaims, but he closes the compact without another comment and takes out the last item in the bag. He unscrews the tin to reveal a slightly iridescent cream. “Am I allowed to know what _this_ is?”

“That’s some healing salve, since the wind must be rough on your skin.”

Hope looks from the salve to Coda and frowns. “I think that you need this more than I do.”

“What?”

Hope stands up and brings the compact and tin over to Coda, facing the mirror at him. “I guess you wouldn’t have seen yourself yet, but, well…” Coda looks at the angry red of the skin that was exposed during his ride and sighs. Hope bounds over to his bed and pats it enthusiastically. “Come on, we can put it to use!”

Coda stretches his limbs and follows Hope, sitting down on the mattress. Hope leans in close and dabs the cream on Coda’s cheeks, rubbing it into his skin with gentle circles. Coda’s eyes flutter shut as he feels the coolness of the balm. “I didn’t realize that my face was stinging this much,” he remarks.

“You don’t realize a lot of things,” Hope says wisely.

Coda cracks an eye open. “Like what?”

“I mean, it took you years to learn that Fang was not just a king but _your_ king.”

Coda starts to protest but catches himself. “That’s fair enough.” He sighs again, fondly this time, as Hope rubs the last bit of the salve into his skin. They sit in silence for a moment, Hope’s hands on Coda’s face before the former abruptly speaks up.

“Can I brush your hair?”

Coda opens his eyes. “Why?”

He seems more curious than bothered, so Hope opens the compact back up. “I just kind of thought of it, since it’s—it kind of looks like you,” he says, running his finger first across the pale-tipped dark bristles, then along the edge of one of Coda’s beast ears, causing it to flutter slightly.

“It looks like your hair too,” Coda points out, putting his hand over his ear self-consciously.

Hope’s smile brightens. “Yeah! We match!” He scoots more towards Coda’s side. “But I already used it on myself, so I want to brush you.” Coda nods his assent and tilts his head slightly. Hope brushes Coda’s hair carefully, smoothing out the mess caused by his journey. Coda’s ears droop slightly as he relaxes under Hope’s ministrations.

Hope finishes brushing Coda with a noise of contentment and snaps the compact shut before immediately burying his fingers into Coda's hair and mussing it up.

Coda’s ears jolt up in shock and he bats Hope’s hands away. “What do you think you're doing?”

“Enjoying the fruits of my labor,” Hope replies firmly, batting at Coda's hand in turn before stroking his hair again. “It feels so silky now…” He pets Coda until he relaxes again, his ears drooping as he leans onto Hope's shoulder.

Hope moves his hand to gently scratch Coda behind his ear and Coda tilts his head into it, sighing contently. His hand disappears and Coda bites back an embarrassing whine at the loss of contact. Hope adjusts his position and pats his thigh, looking at Coda expectantly. Coda sighs, but there’s no use pretending that he doesn’t want it too, so he obediently moves to lay down on his side and rests his head in Hope’s lap.

Hope immediately buries his hands back into Coda’s hair, mussing it as he continues to stroke around Coda’s ears enthusiastically. It’s a bit embarrassing, asking for people to pet him like this now that he’s no longer a child, so Coda’s glad that Hope seems to enjoy doing it so much.

Fingers dig into Coda’s scalp and contented sounds rumble from deep in his chest. Hope scratches him a bit harder and Coda slaps a hand over his mouth out of habit as a noise involuntarily finds its way out of it. In the silence, the soft _pat pat pat_ of his tail wagging against the mattress sounds far too loud.

_Shameful_ , Coda thinks.

“You’re so cute!” Hope exclaims. Coda moves his hand a little higher as a flush spreads over his cheeks. Hope stops and moves a hand to rest over Coda’s. “If you don’t like when that happens, though, let me know.”

Coda pushes their hands away and shakes his head. Hope nods in acknowledge but doesn’t immediately go back to petting Coda. “Some things aren’t necessary, even if I enjoy them, if they’re an inconvenience to you.” Coda wonders where he’s going with this, if he should worry, but Hope continues, “You don’t have to bring me back something every time you leave.”

Hope brings this up every time Coda visits, and Coda replies the same way he does every time. “I want to, though.” Upon further consideration, he explains, much more softly, “If I can’t take you to the stars, I’ll bring them to you.”

Hope laughs gently, patting Coda’s shoulder. “Do you still think I just wanted to travel with you to travel? I wanted to travel with you to be with you.” Coda turns to hide his face (and what almost certainly would be an embarrassing expression) against Hope’s lap. “It makes me more than happy enough when you come visit me when you’re on Eterno. I don’t have to visit other stars when the brightest one comes to me.”

“That is by far the sappiest thing you’ve said to anyone in your life, ever.”

“But do you dislike it?” Hope asks.

Coda doesn’t know how to explain, how to put into words how it makes him feel. Hope doesn’t seem to expect a reply though, humming a tuneless song to himself as he rubs a hand up and down Coda’s back as he returns to petting his head. Coda doesn’t have to say anything. He knows that Hope understands what it means when he reaches a hand up to cup Hope’s face gently.

And Hope does, leaning down to kiss Coda.

**Author's Note:**

> happy belated 1/11 honestly i've been dragging out finishing this fic since 11/1 lmao  
> i really love codahope tho so i hope that other people who do maybe enjoy this.... they are warm
> 
> [hmu on twitter](http://twitter.com/natsutteparty)


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